


At Genesis

by rad_twister



Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: Author Is Sleep Deprived, Character Study, Creation Myth, FSM gives an evil cloud The Talk (TM), Falling In Love, Fate & Destiny, Gender Confusion, I Tried, Not Beta Read, Not Canon Compliant, Opposites Attract, Other, This Is STUPID, i heard this ship i called "YinYang" and i think that's rad, the overlord uses it/its pronouns for over half the fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-11
Updated: 2020-06-11
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:47:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,307
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24654817
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rad_twister/pseuds/rad_twister
Summary: The Overlord is born, and immediately has an existential crisis. FSM is quite happy to help him figure stuff out.
Relationships: Overlord/First Spinjitzu Master
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12





	At Genesis

**Author's Note:**

> look, i really have no idea where the hell this fic went

The world was created in a flash of brilliant gold. 

A vast ocean appeared out of darkness, and the earth followed soon after, raising itself above the water to greet the light of a new sun. It was a beautiful sight to behold. Blue sky, glittering waters, and dirt that bathed in the comforting warmth. 

Alone in this realm, the First Spinjitzu Master smiled, dropping the Golden Weapons and sliding to the ground, exhausted. He took a deep breath of the fresh air, closed his eyes, sighed. “Happy birthday, Ninjago,” he said, knowing that the realm was listening. 

Finally, there was tranquility. No war resided in this plane, nothing but light and peace… and emptiness. It was empty. Emptiness was better than never-ending war, right?

The First was too tired to conjure more things, and so he rested in the gentle breeze.

It surprised him when, not even a few seconds later, he heard a sound. Or— no, not a sound. He _felt_ something shift in the air.

Not life, per se, but something else. The First looked around, confused. There was nobody there except him and his shadow… what was calling out, so silent and soft? 

Perhaps he had simply grown paranoid after living in a war-torn land for so long. It was probably just his imagination, having grown used to needing to keep an eye open all the time. Convinced nothing was wrong, the First stretched and laid himself down on the ground, arms acting as a pillow behind his head as he watched fluffy clouds move across the sky. Eventually, his eyes shut, and he dreamed of life.

Darkness was brought into sentience already suffocating. It had no senses except what it touched, and all it felt was dirt and rocks. The island was a tomb. Terrified and panicking, Darkness tried to feel around itself, and sensed a warmth. What was warmth? What was cold? 

Intangible and formless, Darkness clawed its way up towards that mysterious warmth. It pushed its way through the dirt, and when it finally breached the surface, was surprised to feel pain. The heat suddenly increased unbearably, and it immediately retracted back into the earth, finding safety in the cave it carved out. What was going on? 

It took a moment to collect its thoughts. Okay, so moving downwards felt like getting buried alive — was Darkness alive in the first place? Don’t think too hard about that, it’s confusing — and moving upwards hurt, because upwards was where Light resides, and—

Hold on. Light? What’s that? Darkness did not know where this knowledge came from, only that the word meant something it couldn’t see and should fear. ‘Light’ is a burning sensation.

With nothing better to do and hiding from the sun, the shadow pressed itself along the cave walls, exploring its new world. These textures fascinated the spirit. It ran a formless limb across the dirt, across cool rocks and crumbling minerals, across things that hurt and things that were smooth, across things that were dry and things that were wet. So much to explore! What _was_ all this stuff? And how did it know what to call a few of them, anyway?

The unending day went by like this, with Darkness exploring the underground of… wherever this was. It’s mind often turned to ruminating on the restrictions of its existence, or what it meant to be here, right now. It could not touch light, it was born just a few hours ago, and nobody was around except pebbles. 

At least, that’s what it thought, until it heard something far away. Like the world abruptly unmuted, sound suddenly came rushing in, and the Darkness stilled to listen, frozen in amazement. 

The first sound it heard, the one that broke the silence, was a voice. A beautiful, beautiful voice that called out to seemingly no one at all. 

After that, the Darkness learned that this realm is full of noises. Pebbles clatter, dirt whispers, the water laughs, the breeze above whistles and soothes.

The voice, however, enchants. It sparkles, and it immediately captures all of the shadow spirit’s attention. Darkness followed the sound, and as it drew nearer it sensed life — _true_ life, something more alive than a lurking shadow ever would be. This mysterious life-form had a heartbeat that stirred Darkness in a way it couldn’t understand; the rhythm dug deep into Darkness’ soul and reignited that fear it felt upon first becoming self-aware. Terror was soon followed by something else that the spirit did not know, but called admiration. 

It _admired_ the living drum. It wanted to hold that life close, speak with it, touch it, _understand_. 

Darkness drew ever closer, and hesitated right underneath the stranger. Every footstep of the being above sent a vibration through the earth, shivering every molecule in a minute way. How interesting!

Going up there would be risky, yes… but it needed to. It needed to know what this other thing was, and if the living being could explain what’s going on. Decision made, the spirit of shadows ascended and rose from the dirt, ignoring sunlight’s sting. Now, standing in clear daylight… Darkness saw.

Once again, it froze in wonder. 

For the first time in its life, Darkness was embarrassed. 

This felt terrible, being so awkward in the presence of… Creation? Is that what it’s called?

 _Creation_ was the one with a living drum, with that voice that arrested the mind and demanded the undivided attention of anyone lucky enough to hear it. Creation was standing _right there,_ jaw dropped and eyes wide, staring at a monster. 

The being quickly got over the initial shock. “Hello,” Creation greeted politely. “Who… who are you?”

In answer, the sentient shadow spoke its first words. “ _I don’t know,_ ” it rasped, and immediately recoiled at the sound of its own voice, ashamed. Its voice was not pretty like Creation’s, but rather hideous and grating. 

Creation smiled kindly, but there was a certain sad sympathy in those golden eyes. “You are Darkness,” Creation explained. "The other half."

It supposed that had to be true. That’s what it called itself, anyway. 

The First wasn’t too surprised when the shadow manifested itself. He’d been waiting for that to happen. The world needed balance, and this creature was exactly the right element. Of course, the First also knew that this period of curiosity and tameness wouldn’t last. Darkness didn’t know it yet, but it would also need to take on the title of _Evil_. 

For now, the shadow was just… a pleasant companion, actually. It stuck around for a few hours, simply watching the First as he wandered his own realm, planning the formations of the mountains and other geological features. 

It was actually a bit cute, sometimes. As soon as the ground started to shake —the First was pulling mountain ranges from the ground — Darkness clung to him and demanded what was going on, claws digging into his arm from how tightly it held on.

“I’m building a world,” the First Spinjitzu Master responded, barely stifling his own laughter. 

Darkness — whose form had begun to take on a more humanoid shape the longer it hung around the First — narrowed its glowing eyes at the new features. “The dirt is roaring,” it said, anxiety evident in its tone. 

“That’s only an earthquake.”

“How long will this take?”

“A while.” The First gave his companion a reassuring smile, and the tectonic plates slowed their movement to an almost unnoticeable pace. “There, I’m finished with that. Do you like it?”

Darkness’ gaze flickered over the peaks, taking in their intimidating size. Much of the landscape had grown uneven, and for the first time, shadow was cast upon the land by something other than the First’s body. “It is… beautiful.”

“Good,” he said, beaming. “I’ve still got lots to do. Where do you think the rivers should go?”

Building Ninjago with the First was, admittedly, fun. Darkness found itself enjoying the work much more than it thought it would. 

Ninjago now had form: it had canyons and mountains, secret caves, trenches deep in the ocean, volcanos that spat fire, fog and clouds and rain, shining crystals that popped up among all the intense heat and pressure. The landscape was stunning, holding a variety of features and _so much_ to discover. 

The two had built a home... but a home is only called such when it has a family to inhabit it. 

“What now?” Darkness pried, peeking over the First’s shoulder to look at whatever he was kneeling in the dirt for. “What… is that?”

The First put his palm onto the dirt, focused for a bit, sent loving energy out and called for life… and life answered. A sprout grew from the ground, glowing a vibrant green, its accelerated growth leading to form a bud, which then bloomed in a burst of colors that the Darkness had never seen before. It gasped, astonished at the sight, and the appearance of a new sense: smell. Even from a foot away, the creature could breathe in the plant’s sweet scent, and found that the plant delighted it in every single way.

“It’s pretty, is it not?” the First asked, pleasantly amused at his companion’s reaction.

“What is it?”

“A flower.”

“It’s alive?”

“Yes.” The First plucked it from the ground, and handed it to the shadow.

“What! You— you killed it?” 

The First was surprised by how easily Darkness grieved. “Don’t worry,” he consoled. “I can grow another. Flowers don’t live long anyway, and they are not sentient like you and I. I did not hurt it.”

Hesitantly, Darkness took the flower from the First’s hand. “What do I... do with it?”

The First chuckled, took the flower out of Darkness’ hand, and tucked it behind its ear. “Lots of things. Too much to explain in one sitting, actually, but for now... you can wear it.” He paused for a moment. “It looks nice on you.”

Darkness’ stomach churned. It felt very warm, very quickly. “Thank you.” 

Abruptly, the First stood up. “Come, there’s lots more to do! How do you feel about… hmm, let’s say… seven distinct biomes?” He walked off, and in his footsteps trailed a wake of plant growth. 

The Darkness watched, stunned at all the new types. Everything this man touched or made was beautiful. It shook its head, and ran to catch up with the god. “Is there anything out there like you and I?”

The First Spinjitzu Master grew visibly uncomfortable. “Well… yes. There are powerful beings out there, but not here. Not in Ninjago, and for good reason.” He hated thinking about the war. 

“I see…”

“However, there are other things similar to us. Things with free will and sentience. They’re another form of life: animals.”

With a deep, steadying breath — this would surely take a lot out of him — the First Spinjitzu Master summoned the rest of life into existence. Plants spread out across the ground… trees grew high into the air, berries ripened, petals drifted in a breeze… and then the animals appeared, quick to do what their instincts told them to do. 

He almost fainted when he was done, but the Darkness was quick to catch him in its embrace. “God! Are you okay?”

The First nodded weakly, leaning heavily onto the shadowy being and trying not to grow flustered at the contact. He appreciated the concern, however, although it did confuse him. Why was Darkness still so _nice_? The balance of the world had yet to grow into its role.

His thoughts were interrupted when a couple of birds landed on a tree branch nearby, singing to each other. They were of the same species, and courted each other. 

“Why do they look so different?” came the ever-curious voice of the Darkness.

This might be a bit difficult of a concept for a living shadow to wrap its mind around, but the First tried his best. “The animals… well… they need to repopulate, yes? And most of them do this by sharing, um. Code. They have genetic code that melds together during an… _event…_ and becomes a new member of the species. For most animals, this means they are split into groups, or ‘sexes’, that each hold a part of the code that must come together to complete the blueprints for their offspring. See, those two birds are a male and a female, and they plan to raise chicks.”

The Darkness was silent for a moment, staring skeptically at the birds, until its eyes widened in realization. “Oh. Then they are… like us? Balanced? Two halves of a whole?”

It took a lot of self control not to choke on the air. “In— in a way, yes!”

“In that case, what am I?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean they are…”the Darkness trailed off, gesturing vaguely at the birds when it couldn’t find the right words. “...Physically different. Which one am I, to you?”

His face heated up. “I, uh—” he cut himself off with a cough, having _actually_ choked on the air this time. “N-no, we’re not like that.”

“Oh.” The Darkness averted its eyes, and then looked up at its companion to look his body over. “You are more like these birds than I am.”

“In what way?”

“You have a sex. I am just a living shadow. There is only one of my kind, and I don’t have a partner other than you, which is strange because we _aren’t_ meant to reproduce — we are incompatible in that regard — and you have warm blood, a heartbeat, and a means of reproduction that is obviously meant to be matched.” It hissed in frustration. “You have a need for a partner, and I cannot fulfill that role! So what _am_ I to you?”

He didn’t know how to respond. It’s not like he could tell it they were supposed to be enemies, even if that was the truth. Call him selfish, but he really enjoyed being on friendly terms with spirit, and didn’t want that to end quite yet. The First just wasn’t ready to lose his companion, even if he knew it was inevitable. “We are exceptions,” he answered quietly. 

“Oh?”

Picking up a stick, the First scratched the shape of a circle into the dirt. The Darkness watched intently as he drew a curvy line down the middle of it, forming the two halves of yin and yang. “This is the balance of Light and Dark. You are the embodiment of one, and I created the day. It is crucial that we work together to keep life flourishing. Without each of us, the realm becomes unbalanced, and the world falls into ruin.”

Darkness nodded, satisfied at finally understanding why it was created in the first place. “I think I understand,” it said. “So that is what you meant by us completing each other?”

“Yes.” 

It sighed. “Could we ever be something more?”

“Hm?”

It turned to glance at the birds, but they’d already flown off. “Could we ever complete each other in a different way? I want to be like them. I don’t want to be alone.”

The First desperately hoped his cheeks weren’t as red as they felt. “Is this about…? This will come as good news to you: your body is a fluid thing. You can change forms if you want to.”

“That’s wonderful, but I don’t know what to become!”

“You’ll figure it out eventually.”

Ever impatient, the Darkness fought back a wave of negativity — the flower wilted the worse its mood got — and decided to shift the subject. “What are you?”

“I am male.”

“You are a beautiful male, in that case.” Darkness wondered if it could possibly fashion itself in his likeness. It had always admired his body, and this led to it spending a lot of time staring at the way the First moved; it knew how his muscles interacted, the shape and function of each body part. _Every single one_. It memorized him when he wasn’t paying attention. 

“You find me attractive?”

The Darkness grinned, exposing fangs that had not yet tasted blood as they one day would. “ _Very_.”

“Are you trying to _court_ me?!”

“Is it working?”

This was certainly a side that the Darkness hadn’t shown yet, and the First Spinjitzu Master was quickly growing flustered. He hadn’t flirted with anyone before, nor had anyone shown him attention of that sort— and honestly, he had no idea what to do. 

Prophecy had decreed that this being would challenge him for the fate of Ninjago, that it would become the evil Overlord whose power perfectly matched the First Spinjitzu Master’s, and that they would engage in a legendary battle. 

Prophecy did _not_ decree that they would become lovers.

...He could deny it no longer, though. The First kinda, sorta, _maybe_ wanted this too.

“Oh, and… First? I believe I would like to call myself male, too.”

“Alright.” He nodded his acknowledgement. “I will refer to you as such.”

“Is that fine?”

“Two men can love one another. There is nothing saying we can't.” 

The Darkness’ eyes seemed to glow brighter, and he closed the distance between them.

This time, the sense he discovered was _taste_. 

Life tasted bitter. 

The Darkness was falling for the First more and more with each day they spent in paradise together, but a problem had arisen that hadn’t been there before. 

He didn’t quite understand it, but sometimes he got the urge to destroy things. Sometimes, he found himself irritable over almost nothing. He hated the sunlight — _hated_ it — and had entertained thoughts of extinguishing the sun. 

On this particular night, as he held the First in his arms and watched him sleep, a few more thoughts wormed their way into his mind. The world around them was all too silent to serve as distraction, and so he let the philosophical tide ebb and rise as it pleased. 

Why did it matter that they kept the world going? What was the point to it? And why wasn’t the First using his powers anymore? It seemed he’d set those Golden Weapons down one day, and hadn’t been planning on using them again. That was such a pity, because they were powerful. Even without the Four Golden Weapons, the First Spinjitzu Master held incredible might, unrivaled by all but one . Combined with the Darkness (who had begun to explore his own abilities in secret), they could rule this world. That circular symbol he’d drawn into the dirt so long ago… it was beautiful. Why not let everyone else see the beauty of it too? Everyone would have no choice but to _bow_ to the two emperors...

But _nooo_ , the First wanted to lay low. Patheti—

He shouldn’t think about his lover that way. 

The Darkness — no, _future_ _Overlord_ — looked down at the First, how peaceful his expression was in sleep, and felt warmth bubble in his chest. He loved him, yes… but why did he have to listen to whatever the First said? Everything up here hurt him. The sunlight hurt, and the First loved the sun. The Serpentine annoyed him, and the First enjoyed talking to them. This wasn’t fair. 

They could be ruling this entire realm, and then the next! They could conquer everything!

Unfortunately, the First was far too gentle-hearted for that. 

So maybe… maybe the Overlord would just have to go ahead and do it anyway. Maybe he’d have to take Ninjago for his own, and then the First would understand, and _then_ they could crown themselves eternally. 

“You really shouldn‘t be so nice and trusting all the time,” he murmured, combing a hand through the First’s white-blond hair absentmindedly. Those strands were as soft as silk. “Something’s gonna hurt you one of these days.”

A tiny voice told him that ‘ _something’_ would be the Overlord himself.

**Author's Note:**

> no one:  
> me: dude,,, what if i fuckin shipped two gods that hate each other in canon


End file.
